


i write sins, not tragedies

by partiallight



Category: IDOLiSH7 (Video Game)
Genre: M/M, Maid Cafe, Pre-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-14
Updated: 2021-01-14
Packaged: 2021-03-18 15:42:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,497
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28745652
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/partiallight/pseuds/partiallight
Summary: Tenn might have left home, but he still cares all the same. And maybe that's exactly why he's in a shady maid café with a certain red-haired maid.
Relationships: Kujou Ten/Nanase Riku
Comments: 2
Kudos: 35





	i write sins, not tragedies

Tenn has made many, many bad life choices.

He will never fully regret leaving the Nanase household, but he will never forgive himself for it either.

Does not forgive himself for leaving Riku in his time of need.

The thought of Riku being safe, sound and happy, however, has kept Tenn going.

Until today.

It’s one of those autumn days on which Tenn used to give Riku his scarf because the wind would make his throat cold, one of those days where they’d collect some pretty leaves and then drink some tea at home.

Today, Tenn is alone, on the way home from the filming of a commercial. His usual disguise is on, and he’s glad for the hat keeping him a little warmer.

He stops to readjust his glasses.

It’s been over a year since they formed TRIGGER. He should probably check in with his parents to see how Riku is doing, he thinks, but he knows he won’t. Instead he’ll ask Kujo-san to dig up the medical records, all so Tenn can avoid talking to them.

“Would you happen to be interested in visiting our café, master?” He hears a high-pitched voice say. “We have something for everyone here.”

There’s a weird emphasis on the word ‘everyone’, and Tenn feels like he should go. Tenn has stopped listening to his feelings a long time ago. “Like what?”

He turns around to see the person who spoke to him. A maid, taller than what Tenn is used to from movies.

“All sorts of maids, all sorts of services.” The maid winks. “From the typical little sister or brother routine, to the moe—”

“Little brother routine?”

“Oh, have I piqued your interest, master?”

Tenn hates that he spoke without thinking. “Maybe.”

If this were to get out to the public, he can just pay for silence. Of course, he doesn’t intend for that to happen.

He would like to be called Tenn-nii by someone though.

* * *

The maid café’s entrance might be out in the open and its first floor might look normal, but the fact that it has a basement is already suspicious.

Tenn eyes his surroundings warily as he walks down the stairs, keeping his belongings close to his body.

“Alright then!” The maid who brought him there seems cheerful and less polite now. “Pick your maid, master. Take your time, too. Also, here’s our rates.” She hands him a tablet with a menu on it.

Tenn scrolls through the menu, surprised at how well-organized the maid café industry is. Or maybe that’s just this specific place. Somehow, none of the guys seem to incite big brother feelings in him.

He sighs.

_This was a bad idea._

He’s about to leave when the ‘high school’ section, a section separate from the ones that are divided by gender, catches his eye. That’s—

_I’m a minor, too, this shouldn’t surprise me._

He scrolls and scrolls and…

“Riku?”

“Oh, how do you know Ri-chan’s full name?” The maid is still there, watching him.

“Uhm. It was just a guess.”

This has to be a coincidence, he tells himself. In the picture, there’s a maid with red twintails. Warm red eyes. A beautiful smile that betrays the nervousness of the person’s posture.

“I want that one,” he hears himself saying as he returns the tablet, and he can’t tell whether he’s angry or pleased.

“What an eager master,” the maid who took him here comments, and Tenn hates being read that easily.

“Where do I need to go?”

“Not so fast. You still need to pick your options. What will it be? Any special nicknames? A shared bath? Any food preferences? Or perhaps… perhaps you would like to spend the night here?”

Tenn wasn’t gonna spend much here, but a part of him seems to think that it’s a great idea, since he very quickly says, “The name is Tenn-nii. Only that. Aside from that, I want omurice, and all options.”

“Idol roleplay? We have not had that in a while.” The maid smiles. “You don’t seem that old, master. I would usually have to ask you for your age.”

_Maybe I should thank my fanbase._

If he was any less popular, the staff of this place would have caught on immediately.

Tenn sighs, takes out his credit card he reserves for purchases he’d rather not share with the agency or Kujo-san, and holds it out. “Add 20% to the charge and don’t mention my age. For that matter, isn’t… isn’t Riku also underage?”

 _It’s a coincidence. It’s just the same name and face._ Tenn is just doing a poor high school girl a favor by dropping a little pocket money for her because she happens to look like his brother. _Yeah. That’s it._

“You have a point,” the maid says, swiping his credit card over the reader and handing it back to him. “You’ll find Ri-chan in room 07. He’ll be ready in around fifteen minutes. Until then, feel free to freshen up a little.”

_He?_

Tenn thinks it might be a mistake, that she had just misspoken, but he does not ask, because he wants to see for himself.

* * *

Tenn chooses to wait in room 07. It smells somewhat mild, of things that wouldn’t strain your lungs too much. Lavender and chamomile, perhaps.

He puts his coat and scarf on the coathanger, burying his wallet and phone as deep in his pants’ pockets as he can.

The room is luxurious, lacking in carpeting but having a suspiciously big bed, a kotatsu, multiple TVs and a lot of drawers. All sorts of alcohol is displayed, and Tenn would rather stay away from it.

There’s a knock.

Tenn ignores it, curious to see what would happen.

Three more knocks. “Uhm, master…?”

That’s a familiar voice.

Tenn decides to open the door, coming face to face with his maid for the night.

“You really do look like him,” Riku mutters, and there’s no doubt now: this is his twin brother, Nanase Riku. 

Crossdressing.

In a very, very cute maid outfit. With a plate of omurice in his hand.

Tenn does not let the shock show on his face. Instead, he sits down at the kotatsu. “I thought I had asked to be called Tenn-nii.”

_Why is he doing this sort of job? Isn’t this way too physically demanding? And besides, what are these R18 options? Is he..._

The stream of thoughts only stops when Riku awkwardly bows, closes the door and serves the food to Tenn. “I’m sorry, T-Tenn-nii. Uhm...”

Tenn smiles, and he hates that it’s real.

Meanwhile, Riku sounds like he’s trying to remember a rehearsed line. Then. “We should cast some magic on the food so—”

Tenn remembers this sort of thing from TV. “No, don’t worry about that.” He suspects that Riku has yet to realize his identity, which might be better for him if he manages to not slip up. “Sit down with me.

Riku obeys, almost as if his body moves on autopilot. Tenn notices a slight tremble in his movement. 

He tries, “Are you scared?”

Riku shakes his head. “O-Of course not, Tenn-nii. It’s just…”

“Just?” Tenn tilts his head when Riku’s face is almost as red as his hair.

“Forget it. It’s fine.”

_Maybe it’s..._

Tenn forces himself to laugh. “Don’t worry too much about the options I booked.”

“B-but you paid for them!” 

Riku seems to be both happy and uneasy at the same time.

“My money is only my concern. And now open up.” He takes a piece of omurice and holds it up to Riku’s mouth. 

“Eh?”

“Not ‘eh?’, ‘ah’.”

“Aaaaah.” Riku leans forward and swallows the bite, smiling. “Omurice is the best after all.”

_Damn, that’s cute._

The last time he’s done this was more than five years ago.

“Riku…”

“Uhm. Mas— Tenn-nii. How do you know my name?”

Tenn lies with an effortlessness he had not expected of himself. “Oh, the other maid accidentally told me.”

Riku, being as innocent as he was almost five years ago, nods. “That makes sense.”

Tenn takes a bite of the omurice, too.

 _Not as good as back then, but pretty good_.

Less than a minute of eating in silence passes, and Riku is already shifting around nervously. “Uhm, Tenn-nii?”

“Yes?” Tenn does not hide the smile on his face.

He’s glad it’s him and not anyone else having Riku for himself right now. Mostly for Riku’s safety.

“Do you like TRIGGER? I mean, outside of this roleplay...”

_He really hasn’t caught on, huh?_

He gives Riku a polite smile. “Of course.”

Riku nods. “Uhm. What would you like to do, Tenn-nii? Officially, a night here ends at 6AM.”

“Hm…” Tenn pretends to think hard about it. “Why don’t you tell me about yourself?”

“About me?” Riku tilts his head. “That’s a first. Usually, customers want…” Riku looks away.

“Want what?” 

“Maybe I’ll tell you later, Tenn-nii.” Riku’s smile right now is fake, Tenn can tell.

Tenn feeds Riku another bite, enjoying the domesticity of the situation a bit too much. “So, what made you start working here?”

“Ah… I’m in high school, and we aren’t off too well financially…”

“Are you in debt?”

He shouldn’t be, but Tenn needs to make sure.

Riku shakes his head. “It’s more like… We’re always just on the edge? The one helping us will do just enough to keep us safe and out of debt.” He stares into space.

_I’ll have to talk to Kujo-san about that._

Tenn tries to not let the anger show. Suddenly, he feels a spoon against his lips.

“You should eat more, Tenn-nii,” Riku says, pouting ever so slightly.

Tenn wouldn’t know if this is an act, part of the job. He doesn’t care. It’s hitting him right in the heart, and his face feels warm. He opens his mouth and lets Riku feed him.

They feed each other in pleasant but comfortable silence when the door opens and the maid from before walks in. “I see you two have eaten up~ Ri-chan, shouldn’t you perform soon?”

Surprisingly confident, Riku gets up. “Of course. Tenn-nii, what would you like me to perform?”

“Perform?”

Riku nods, taking a microphone from a drawer. “I’ll sing and dance for you, Tenn-nii. So don’t take your eyes off me.”

Something in Tenn stirs, and he can’t quite name it. “Do DIAMOND FUSION then.”

He’s not sure what he wants to see, but he wants to see it.

“I’ll pull up the instrumental for that then,” the other maid provides before leaving.

Riku sighs in relief. “I thought she was gonna scold me.”

“Why?”

“They sometimes say I’m not erotic enough.”

Tenn wants to punch something. “You’re fine the way you are,” he mutters quietly. “Is that why you said that?”

“What?”

“‘Don’t take your eyes off me.’”

“Oh, no.” Riku smiles, and Tenn can see the mischief in his eyes. “I fully meant that. I’ll give you a performance you won’t forget, Tenn-nii. I might not look like it, but I do want to be an idol one day.”

Tenn really wants to say _No, don’t do that_ , but he doesn’t want to ruin the magic. So he nods. “Show me, then. Your best entertainment.”

* * *

Riku’s best entertainment is captivating.

Tenn wants to take his eyes off of him, but it’s like he’s in a spell— his eyes follow Riku’s hands as Riku dances for him, as Riku makes him pay attention to the short skirt, the thigh-highs, and the sensual nature of his movements.

 _This isn't anything I don’t know. TRIGGER’s MV for this is much more like that._ And yet…

And yet Tenn is pleased in ways he’d rather not be. 

Tenn feels breathless when Riku finishes, doing a curtsy before smiling at Tenn. “Thanks for watching, Tenn-nii.”

Tenn doesn’t respond, still staring at him, lips parted slightly.

It is then that Riku, for once, fully breaks character. “Oi, earth to Tenn-nii! I tried really hard, you know.” He pouts.

Tenn doesn’t know what loosened his tongue, or when. But what comes out is, “Sorry, it was just that good.”

Riku blushes. “It means a lot to hear that from you. I wish I could hear it from the real Tenn-nii, too.”

 _He’s really not gonna catch on_ , Tenn thinks. _That’s good_.

“I’m sure you will one day.” It’s unlikely that they will meet again after this.

Tenn thinks of what he will do after this. How he will use his connections to shut this practice down in order to protect his brother. Thinks about how Riku will never know.

“What kind of job will you do if you ever quit here?” Maybe Tenn’s words were a little too obvious.

Riku is good-natured, however. He won’t notice.

“Probably something like this again. It’s hard to get a job with bad health.” He laughs awkwardly. “They think it could be a charm point here, though.”

Tenn hadn’t considered that, and his resolve in telling Kujo-san to increase the payments is renewed.

The fact that Riku has been driven into a corner so much that he’s doing a job like this… Tenn does not like it.

“You have other charm points,” Tenn finds himself saying.

“Like what, Tenn-nii?” Riku tilts his head, a faint blush spread across his face.

Before Tenn can answer, Riku gets up. “Ah, no, I forgot the dessert!”

He hurries out of the room, and Tenn tries to ignore the sight he just had.

Tenn is not a pervert. (Riku just got up too quickly, and his skirt is too short..)

While waiting, Tenn takes to humming some songs. He’s always done it, even back then at their old home. Even in the hospital. 

(Not in TRIGGER’s greenroom.)

“Ah, that’s TRIGGER’s new single, isn’t it?” Riku comes in with a plate of donuts.

Tenn looks away. “You’re a big fan, huh?”

“Of course I am, Tenn-nii.” Riku smiles. “You seem like the type who’d like donuts.”

Tenn can’t tell whether he’s been found out or if Riku is that simple. “I do.” 

He instinctively reaches for the one with pink sprinkles. “You eat some, too. You seem like you’d like donuts as well.”

“I do!” Riku excitedly reaches for one. 

This is beautifully domestic, so peaceful, so dreamlike. And much like a dream, ephemeral.

* * *

It is after another hour of eating and talking that Tenn realizes that Riku’s voice is sounding a little strained, so he makes him get tea.

Riku predictably only arrives with one cup, so Tenn slides it over to him. “Drink some.”

“Eh, me?”

“Yeah. We haven’t had much to drink in the last hours.”

Riku shakes his head. “Don’t worry about me, Tenn-nii.” He slides the cup back.

Tenn prevents himself from sighing. 

_Plan B then._

Tenn leans over the table a little, coming dangerously close to his face. “Never heard of an indirect kiss?”

Riku immediately blushes. “Tenn-nii, you didn't seem interested in…”

“Maybe I changed my mind because you’re cute.” Tenn lies his way through the conversation, ignoring the tiny voice in the back of his head that says, _He really is cute though_.

It’s Riku who surprises him next. “Tenn-nii seemed like the type who prefers a direct kiss though.”

Tenn feels his face heat up. “Well, that’s. That’s up to you.”

Riku takes a couple sips from the tea. “It is good tea.” He leans in and stops right before Tenn’s face before looking away. “...I really am bad at this stuff.”

A chuckle escapes Tenn, because of course his brother would be bad at this stuff.

(He is, too, but he has acting experience.)

“Don’t laugh at me.” Riku pouts, and as he speaks their noses touch. “I bet you’re no better, Tenn-nii.”

Tenn is an incredibly petty person. Yes, surely, that’s why.

It’s not because he harbors feelings for Riku, and has done so for many years.

Nothing stupid like that.

Tenn is just petty, and that’s why he kisses Riku.

He still tastes the faint sweet remains of the tea on Riku’s lips, and his hands find their way to Riku’s over the kotatsu.

Riku doesn’t shy away from the kiss, and when Tenn opens his eyes, he can see Riku’s are half-open.

“Hey, Tenn-nii,” Riku mutters against his lips. “Can I tell you something silly?”

Tenn makes no effort to move away. “Sure.”

“I thought that maybe you’re the real Tenn-nii. Because you’re so much like him.” Riku does move away a little, looking at his half-filled teacup.

“But?” Tenn leaves his hand on Riku’s.

“The real Tenn-nii would never kiss me.” There’s a hint of tears in Riku’s eyes, but he blinks them away.

 _If only you knew_.

Tenn smiles. “Maybe he will, one day. For now, isn’t it fine to play pretend like this?”

Riku laughs, but it sounds sad. “Maybe it is. And I have to say, you do look a lot like him.”

 _It’s better if he never finds out_ , Tenn thinks, and he checks his phone. “It’s pretty late already, wanna sleep?”

Riku nods and carries the dishes outside.

Tenn would have gone further. He really would have. Just for this night, he would've done all the things he'd be denying himself for the rest of his life.

But seeing Riku's sad smile, seeing Riku care that much, he can't break Riku's heart any further.

Can't break his own heart any further, either, because he might say something he regrets.

* * *

What Tenn did not expect was that because he booked all the options, Riku is now undressing in front of him. 

“Eh. I’m…” Riku seems nervous. “I can’t get the corset open.”

Tenn sighs and turns around to face a half-undressed blushing Riku, and he carefully undoes the lacing of the corset.

Riku shivers under his touch, and _that_ part of Tenn is enjoying it.

The part of Tenn that thought kissing Riku is a good idea.

He slides the corset down Riku’s body. “That looks like it was really tight.”

“It’s hard to breathe in,” Riku admits. “Thanks, Tenn-nii.”

_I’ll get you out of here._

Riku reaches for one of the drawers, grabbing a thin, short negligée.

“Nope. We’re not doing that.”

“Eh?” Riku puts it back. “Is it not the color you—”

“I’m more into plain pajamas,” Tenn lies, conscious of Riku getting cold easily in the night.

He can hear Riku breathe a sigh of relief. “Tenn-nii, you’re really nice, you know.”

Riku puts the pajamas on clumsily, buttoning them up the wrong way.

Tenn blames his muscle memory as he rushes to fix them for Riku.

Riku will be the death of him.

“Aren’t you gonna take off your hat, Tenn-nii?” Riku takes off the hair clips.

He has a point.

Tenn takes the hat and glasses off, and he can see Riku staring.

“You… really look a lot like him.”

“I just have good hair dye.”

A lie.

Tenn picks out the most comfortable-looking pajamas, which happen to look like Riku’s but in pink, and he gets changed.

He can feel Riku’s eyes not leave his body, and he wonders why Riku thinks the kiss would be proof of him not being the real Tenn, when Riku himself seems to want him just as much.

Tenn lies down on the luxurious bed, motioning for Riku to come lie down by his side.

Riku complies, turning off the lights beforehand. “Tenn-nii.”

“Yes?”

“Today was nice. The first nice day I had at work.”

“I’m glad.” Tenn plants a kiss on Riku’s forehead. “Good night, Riku.”

“Good night, Tenn-nii.” Riku presses his lips onto Tenn’s.

* * *

All good things will come to an end eventually, so Tenn slips out of the bed and gets dressed at 4AM. He places a sufficient amount of pillows under Riku’s head beforehand to ensure he can sleep well, and he sneaks outside.

(But not before stealing one more kiss from Riku.)

The other maids give him weird looks.

“Don’t wake him up,” Tenn warns with a stare that could kill. 

As he walks out, he vows that this will not happen again.

This was just a play, a facade. It’s not real, and that kiss was not between Tenn and Riku. It was between a client and a maid.

_That’s all there is._

He texts Kujo-san about his concerns about their agreement, makes an anonymous call to the relevant authorities to shut the maid café down, and takes a taxi to Gaku’s place.

He can hardly be caught walking into his apartment at Yaotome Productions at almost 5AM, after all.

* * *

“What the hell, Tenn,” Gaku greets him in his pajamas before sighing and letting him in. “You better have a good explanation for this.”

Tenn does not offer an explanation.

Instead, he goes straight for Gaku’s couch and lies down there. “I’ll sleep here. Sorry for the intrusion.”

Tenn takes out his phone, staring at the picture he took of a sleeping Riku.

This is the one sin he will permit himself to keep.


End file.
